chase ford

[Note: This segment is a part of a position-by-position look at what the Minnesota Vikings might be inclined to do during the 2015 free agency period. This is the fourth article, focusing on the tight ends. In case you missed it, feel free to check out the quarterback preview here, running backs are here, and the fullbacks are here.]

In theory, the Vikings have their tight end depth chart pretty much set. They have the powerful veteran in Kyle Rudolph, the semi-proven backup in Chase Ford, and the journeyman blocker in Rhett Ellison. They also have some camp fodder in Ryan Otten.

Rudolph just signed a huge deal that runs through 2018 and is highly unlikely to go anywhere. Ford is entering a contract year, but is inexpensive and likely to be a restricted free agent in 2016, so there is no real reason to actively oust him from the Vikings roster.

Ellison is also fairly cheap, with a 2015 cap hit of $735,146, and appears like a guy the Vikings want to lock up for the long-term. While unspectacular within the offense, Ellison is a great blocking tight end and solid special teams player.

The Vikings seem highly unlikely to spend heavily on the tight end position this offseason, with actual value more likely to be found in the Draft for a talent worth bringing aboard, but let’s take a look at some of the possibilities.

After a few fairly obvious choices in recent weeks, the Vikings edged out a win over Washington with many contributors and few flawless performances, which will likely make this week’s poll a little more competitive.

Here are the winners from the first eight weeks of this season:

Past Winners:

WEEK ONE: Cordarrelle Patterson

WEEK TWO: Harrison Smith

WEEK THREE: Harrison Smith

WEEK FOUR: Teddy Bridgewater

WEEK FIVE: Harrison Smith

WEEK SIX: Linval Joseph

WEEK SEVEN: Everson Griffen

WEEK EIGHT: Anthony Barr

Nominations for this week’s award, and the poll itself, can be found after the jump.

Vegas to Minneapolis to Mankato all in the matter of a few hours (Okay, maybe like six or seven). Running on an hour of sleep right now but there is no place I’d rather be. I have to be honest with you… Standing on that field just a few feet away from all these incredible athletes was pretty surreal. Hard to be objective and analytical when you’re stuck just trying to take it all in.

Nevertheless, I did jot a few notes down (below). I’ll be back out on the field for the afternoon practice in just a few hours and will report back then. In the meantime, if you haven’t already, follow me on Twitter where I’ll be providing updates. Also, Arif’s Twitter List of training camp coverage is a great resource to be current with what’s going on. Plus, all those guys are pros. I’m just a rube who’s starstruck during his first training camp experience.

A couple of notes from the morning walk through:

Josh Robinson did not participate in the morning’s activities. Robinson was taken out of practice a couple of days ago as a precaution when dealing with a hamstring related injury. Defensive Coordinator George Edwards was unwilling to provide an update on the status of Robinson’s injury and deferred to Zimmer on the issue.

So, this morning I was doing the dishes and listening to the Purple For The Win podcast (baller life, yo) and I was surprised to hear host Andy Carlson pretty much throw in the towel regarding tight end Chase Ford’s chances of making the final Vikings roster.

Carlson has been championing Ford all offseason long, but he sounds like he’s pretty much conceded that Ford is a goner, and neither of his guests Ted Glover and Di Murphy seemed to disagree. Ford has a broken foot that will cause him to lose out on time to prove himself to the new coaching staff, and it was also noted by Mike Zimmer that Ford’s tweet about his injury was not something that would be tolerated.

Last season, injuries forced Chase Ford into action as an unheralded rookie, but he made an impression with some notable performances. That included a five catch performance against Detroit in the season finale. He ended the season with 11 catches for 133 yards and seven first downs.

So, back to Ford’s current situation: Is he really someone we should dismiss so easily?